Category Archives: TV travel advertising

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In the hotly contested TV advertising wars, 18 online travel brands spent an estimated $624.7 million on national television advertising in the U.S. in 2014.The biggest spending brand was Germany-based Trivago at $108.5 million as it tried to build its brand in the U.S. Trivago edged out the U.S. TV ad spend of Expedia.com at $105.8 million.But Expedia Inc. companies, namely Trivago ($108.5 million), Expedia.com ($105.8 million), Hotwire ($92 million) and Hotels.com ($50.2 million) accounted for 57 percent, or $356.5 million, of total online travel TV spend in the U.S. in 2014.The spending estimates come from iSpot.tv, which tracks “paid TV media and related earned digital activity across social, search & video,” the company says.Using iSpot.tv data, AdAge reported that Trivago spent the 7th most, or $64.3 million, of any brand — not just travel brands — on U.S. TV advertising in 2014 on a single ad. Trivago was the only travel company in AdAge’s top 10 list.

Consumers increasingly perceive brands as media companies, a perception that is both fueled by companies creating more engaging content and consumer expectation of more interactive and interesting advertising.

A recent report sheds some light for travel marketers looking to engage more deeply with video content – a medium ideally suited to the beauty and story of the travel experience.

The survey of 1,000 Americans, and 500 marketers, comes from content marketers LevelsBeyond, and points out that brands are leaving opportunities on the table, as many brands don’t believe that their customers even want to see videos from the brands.

There’s also a disconnect between what consumers want to watch and what brands provide. Surprisingly, consumers are especially eager to consume videos that are instructive and teach how to do a particular skill. This insight could be leveraged by travel marketers in spaces where active sports or other insider knowledge could be packaged as a “how to” for a specific destination, vacation or location.Comedy comes in a second, following by product videos, micro-documentaries and animations. Travel marketers should take note of the 33% of surveyed consumers that enjoy micro-documentaries – this result is a sign that this type of content could be a way to hook browsing travelers into a purchase mindset.

However, the surveyed marketers did not match what the surveyed consumers wanted to watch. Brands are focusing less on instructive videos and more videos from their own branded events. A slight focus switch from “event videos” to “micro-documentaries” could be a welcome move by consumers. Social sharing also becomes a very important component of successful online video, as consumers are much more likely to watch videos that were shared within a network. And when a video is trending, a solid 38% of respondents would be more inclined to watch that video.Despite this compelling evidence that successful social sharing drives ROI of video, brands are behind in understanding how this mechanic works.

Another piece of data from Videology shows an immense shift into what video advertisers are seeking for the investment. The jump in cross-screen analysis reveals that this has quickly become one of the most important metrics for video advertising.The videos are pegged to their ability to bring attention and traffic across screens, liberating some of the conversion pressure for one particular platform as its impact can be tracked across screens.Marketers are finally starting to see video as a key component of the cross-platform marketing mix; now brands must be more considered when it comes to matching consumer appetite for video.The full report can be downloaded here.

VisitBritain has come up with an innovative way of luring tourists. The sounds of some famous links to Britain such as pouring of a cup of tea, a black cab beeping and chimes of Big Ben are all being used in a new TV and interactive online advert.‘Sounds of GREAT Britain’ is a GBP 2.5 million global film campaign, commissioned by VisitBritain has been launched across key markets of USA, Brazil, China, India, Gulf states and throughout Europe.Joss Croft, marketing director at VisitBritain said: “We want to involve people in creating their own British experience – first online where they can become the director of their own bespoke tourism ad, and then in reality following their individual journey across Britain according to their own interests and inspirations.”The advert’s soundtrack – Feel the Love – which pieces the audio experience together has been supplied by BRIT band, Rudimental. Traditional British sounds and activities are set against the soundtrack, representing a modern, contemporary Britain.The advert features a whole range of landmarks, people, locations and experiences, including a Dartmouth Steam Train, sound of a Wimbledon tennis crowd, glamour of The Goring, buzz at LoveBox festival and striking medieval fortification at Caerphilly Castle.

“Dreaming big is a unique state-of-mind that can be found in people statewide, from flying like a superhero on a jet pack in San Diego to playing princess at a castle among the vineyards of Napa Valley.”

Admittedly it is early for an ad of the year declaration, but when the brand is Apple you have to sit up and notice. And this one is a doozy: the new ad for iPad Air channels Robin Williams and his verse from “Dead Poets Society” and is all about writing your own verse in life, so to speak.The new ad, titled “Your Verse,” positions the new iPad Air as a tool to dream, create, explore, and travel. “We’re humbled and inspired by what people do with iPad. So we set out to capture some of their stories. What will your verse be?” says the description for the ad on YouTube, which we’ve embedded below.

TripAdvisor unveiled two 30-second advertisements, both of which remind viewers of the site’s green-bubbled one-to-five user-review scale.

One ad, titled “The Vacationer,” wordlessly follows a hotel guest walking to her hotel room and opening the room’s curtains to reveal an ocean view, causing her “green bubble” ranking to increase to five from three bubbles.
The other ad, titled “Room Service” shows a hotel reviewer’s ranking increase to five from four bubbles after a hotel employee brings him a tube of toothpaste. TripAdvisor says additional ads are being planned.

Founded in 2000, TripAdvisor has more than 100 million reviews of about 3 million hotels, restaurants and other attractions.

“There are 260 million unique visitors to TripAdvisor every month, which is amazing, but that also means there are still over 2 billion Internet users we want to reach,” said TripAdvisor chief marketing officer Barbara Messing.

TripAdvisor’s second-quarter net income surged 26% from a year earlier, to $67 million, on growth across all its operations. While its primary click-advertising operations boosted revenue 21%, subscription and transaction revenue jumped 68% from a year earlier. Overall revenue increased 25% to $246.9 million.

There’s only one place where ignoring the organization and logistics involved with travel really pays off. That’s in travel ads where people don’t want to think about renting a car or booking a tour, but want to imagine themselves steeped in culture in front of vistas they’ve only seen in their dreams.

Consequently, this week’s ad roundup looks at the romantic side of travel. It looks past business meetings to see face-to-face human connection, turns arguably irresponsible last-minute trips into a celebration of spontaneity, and highlights how ancient trails can become a modern-day action movie.

Travel marketing often misses the mark in highlighting the specific stories that fuel much of the travel experience. For a business that hinges on emotion, this oversight leads to lackluster campaigns that just don’t have emotional resonance.